OpenAI Debuts $200-Per-Month ChatGPT Pro Plan

OpenAI has debuted a “research grade” version of its main artificial intelligence (AI) model.

“As AI becomes more advanced, it will solve increasingly complex and critical problems. It also takes significantly more compute to power these capabilities,” the company wrote in its announcement Thursday (Dec. 5).

With that in mind, OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT Pro, a $200-per-month plan that includes unlimited access to the company’s smartest model, OpenAI o1, as well as to o1-mini, GPT-4o and Advanced Voice.

In addition, it includes o1 pro mode, a version of o1 that uses more compute to “think harder and provide even better answers” to the most difficult problems. OpenAI said it eventually plans to add more powerful, compute-intensive productivity features to this plan.

“ChatGPT Pro provides a way for researchers, engineers, and other individuals who use research-grade intelligence daily to accelerate their productivity and be at the cutting edge of advancements in AI,” the company said.

OpenAI added that evaluations by external expert testers found that o1 pro mode produces more reliably accurate and comprehensive responses, particularly in areas like data science, programming and case law analysis.

The launch comes one day after OpenAI announced that ChatGPT now has 300 million weekly active users, with 1 billion user messages being sent on the AI chatbot each day. In addition, 1.3 million developers have built on OpenAI in the U.S. The 300 million figure marks an increase of 50 million users in a matter of weeks.

Meanwhile, this weekend saw the news that OpenAI hopes to get to 1 billion users over the next year, with the company expecting a new stage of growth fueled by new products, new data centers and its collaboration with Apple.

Next year, the company “will be coming into our own, as a research lab serving millions … hoping it can be billions of consumers around the world,” chief financial officer Sarah Friar said in an interview with the Financial Times.

In other AI news, PYMNTS wrote Thursday about new research showing that AI systems employing large language models can now effectively control computer interfaces via natural interaction, autonomously navigating software, complete tasks and manipulate interfaces the way humans do.

“This technology will change our relationship to software,” Joan Palmiter Bajorek, CEO and founder of Clarity AI, said in an interview with PYMNTS. “For most people, speaking is one of the most natural ways of interacting with another person. So, instead of manually clicking on buttons, interfaces that incorporate voice AI could be some of the most naturalistic we use. Instead of typing a prompt into ChatGPT, you could simply speak your request out loud.”